Dodgers offense still looking for answers to two-hole curse

Nypost · Aug 21, 2026 · 975 words · By Jack Harris

Sports Performance Analysis Player evaluation

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Daily briefing

What to know about Sports Performance Analysis

Welcome to the California Post’s weekly Dodgers recap, where we review the week that was, hand out very official awards and take stock of the state of the season.

Claims checked 18

Techniques found 1

Topics 2

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center50%

Right50%

2 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Welcome to the California Post’s weekly Dodgers recap, where we review the week that was, hand out very official awards and take stock of the state of the season.

Why it matters

QUESTION OF THE WEEK Will the Dodgers ever find an answer to their two-hole curse?

Common ground

The Dodgers might have the most potent leadoff hitter in baseball in Shohei Ohtani.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Sports Performance Analysis story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that the club ranking 25th in average (.238), 28th in OPS (.668) and 29th in home runs (12) from that batting order spot this year?
How does this story connect Sports Performance Analysis with Player evaluation over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/21/sports/dodgers-offense-still-looking-for-answers-a…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 18 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 8

info Single Source 5

verified Verified By Reference 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified

Claim 1: “the club ranking 25th in average (.238), 28th in OPS (.668) and 29th in home runs (12) from that batting order spot this year.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The search results provide general definitions of stats or unrelated game summaries, but do not provide the league rankings (25th, 28th, 29th) for the Dodgers' two-hole hitters.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hyeseong Kim (Korean: 김혜성; born January 27, 1999) is a South Korean professional baseball second baseman, shortstop, and center fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nick…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyeseong_Kim

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 74th season for the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise in Major League Baseball (MLB), their 6th season in Los Angeles, California, and their 2nd season playing …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1963_Los_Angeles_Dodgers_seaso…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Los Angeles Dodgers season is the 137th season for the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise in Major League Baseball (MLB), their 69th season in Los Angeles, California, and their 65th season playin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Los_Angeles_Dodgers_seaso…

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 2: “On Wednesday against the Rockies, Stewart pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning in which he struck out two batters and reached 97.5 mph with his fastball”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 3: “The right-hander missed last year’s playoffs after undergoing shoulder surgery.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 4: “Andy Pages has manned the role the best (.264 average, .769 OPS in a team-high 66 games)”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific stats (.264 average, .769 OPS in 66 games) are reported in one web search result. No other independent source corroborates these specific numbers for the two-hole role.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 135th season for the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise in Major League Baseball (MLB), their 67th season in Los Angeles, California, and their 63rd season playi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Los_Angeles_Dodgers_seaso…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 136th season for the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise in Major League Baseball (MLB), their 68th season in Los Angeles, California, and their 64th season playi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Los_Angeles_Dodgers_seaso…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 5: “Ferris... was the other player (along with since-departed Tarik Skubal trade piece Zyhir Hope) the Dodgers acquired for Michael Busch a couple years ago.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 6: “Pages went 5-for-16 with a home run and a double during that stretch [the four games after Friday].”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found for this claim in the provided search results.

verified

Claim 7: “Smith has also batted below .200 in limited time as a two-hole hitter in his career.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence provided is entirely irrelevant, focusing on actor Will Smith and other unrelated individuals. There is no data on catcher Will Smith's career batting average in the two-hole.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both the screen and music industries, his accolades include an Academy Award, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Smith

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — William James Smith (born 8 June 1971) is an English stand-up comedian, writer, actor and producer. He is the creator and showrunner of the Apple TV+ drama thriller Slow Horses (2022–), which was nomi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Smith_(comedian)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Will Smith is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. His breakthrough came when he played a fictionalized version of himself in the 1990s television sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The role…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Smith_filmography

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 8: “the left-hander — who is still only 22 years old”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 9: “Jackson Ferris (5 scoreless innings, 9 strikeouts in AAA this week; 2-5 record, 6.69 ERA in AAA this year)”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 10: “Pages is now batting .292 in August, his best mark since his .321 mark in March/April.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 11: “Experiments with Freddie Freeman (.220 average, .562 OPS in 25 games) and Mookie Betts (.149 average, .430 OPS in 11 games) didn’t work.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman contains general season stats or injury updates, but does not mention their specific performance metrics (.220/.562 and .149/.430) when batting in the second hole.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Frederick Charles Freeman (born September 12, 1989) is a Canadian and American professional baseball first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Freeman made his MLB debu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Freeman

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Markus Lynn "Mookie" Betts (born October 7, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder, shortstop, and second baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He debuted …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mookie_Betts

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 12: “Kyle Tucker flopped initially (.238 average, .663 OPS in 21 games batting second).”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific stats (.238 average, .663 OPS in 21 games batting second) are mentioned in one web search result. While another source mentions a .238 average and .719 OPS for the season, it does not corroborate the specific 'batting second' split.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kyle Daniel Tucker (born January 17, 1997), nicknamed "King Tuck", is an American professional baseball right fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously play…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Tucker

menu_book

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 13: “Andy Pages (9-for-25, 2 home runs, 4 RBIs this week; .272 average, 21 home runs, 80 RBIs, .797 OPS this season)”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided is irrelevant, discussing Andy Burnham and World of Warcraft. No statistical data for Andy Pages' weekly or season performance is present in the evidence.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Andy Burnham Finally Gets Told The Truth About Britain A veteran has delivered a powerful message to Andy Burnham, raising serious questions about the direction of Britain and the issues facing ordina…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX9ifVr8zAY

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — DROPS! WOW FOREVER BETA! THIS IS THE NEW HOME BOYZ GUILD PVP SERVER! | Streaming world of warcraft.
https://www.twitch.tv/shobek

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 4 My mum works at home, so she spends all day in the _ on the computer. 5 As a child I had to _ a room with my sister, but now I've got my _ bedroom. 6 We often have guests to stay, but fortunately we…
https://www.euroki.org/koza/complete-the-sentences-im-happy-…

schedule

Claim 14: “Brock Stewart (1 inning, 0 runs, 2 strikeouts this week; 2.30 ERA, 15 ⅔ innings, 16 strikeouts this season)”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 15: “catcher Will Smith... this week was scheduled to take simulated at-bats in live batting practice.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided for this claim consists of unrelated results about HBO and 'The Gilded Age'. No information regarding Will Smith's batting practice is present in the evidence.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — From spacious tote bags to structured baseball caps, the Accessories Collection on the HBO Shop has something for every fan. Shop stickers, tote bags, pop sockets, baseball caps, fanny packs, pins, an…
https://shop.hbo.com/collections/accessories/hats

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — At the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 61st Street, lies the center of the societal battle of old money and new money. Meet the van Rhijn and Russell households.
https://guilded-age.micro.hbo.com/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The official site for HBO, discover full episodes of original series, movies, schedule information, exclusive video content, episode guides and more.
https://www.hbo.com/

help

Claim 16: “he struck out only once in 18 plate appearances”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found for this claim in the provided search results.

schedule

Claim 17: “He opened this season on the IL while completing his recovery from the procedure. And he has twice been sidelined again since, first because of a bone spur on his foot before his latest shoulder setback this month.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 18: “Pages had a home run and three hits while batting second last Friday against the Brewers.”

SINGLE SOURCE

One source ('True Blue LA') confirms Andy Pages had home runs in a win over the Brewers on Friday, but it does not explicitly confirm he had exactly three hits while batting second.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Andy Pages will come off the injured list prior to Tuesday’s game against the Padres. Pages will have missed a month with a fractured hand suffered on a HBP. His return will push Tommy Edman back to s…
https://www.nbcsports.com/fantasy/baseball/player-news/2026-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Game particularsHome runs— Andy Pages (14, 15), Will Smith (7); Trenton Brooks (1)WP— Matt Sauer (2-1): 2 1⁄3 IP, 3 hits, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeoutsThe Dodgers held on to a 3-1 lead to tie t…
https://www.truebluela.com/2025/6/17/24451237/dodgers-padres…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The three-run shot was Hernández’ seventh home run this season and first off a left-handed hitter.The Dodgers added insurance in the final two innings, batting through the order in both to tack on sev…
https://dnyuz.com/2026/05/24/teoscar-hernandez-drives-in-six…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.